Everybody knows Manchester is the sporting capital of the world. Now, along with the Lord Mayor’s charity We Love MCR, M.E.N. Sport wants to crown Manchester’s greatest sportsman or sportswoman.

We want you to nominate who you think has had the biggest impact on this great city of ours.

Who has provided you with memories that will last a lifetime?

Who has put their body on the line for the cause? Who is the one who, when you are feeling down, lifts you up with their sporting prowess? Who is Manchester’s Sporting Legend?

We are looking for our readers to nominate their favourites from the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 00s.

Our expert panel will then narrow it down to four leading lights from each decade.

Then it will go out to a public vote with YOU deciding the four winners.

And from that quartet, the legend with the most overall votes will be named King or Queen.

The poll will come to a conclusion at an awards ceremony at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel.

On March 10, a host of top sporting names will gather to hear the outcome at the first We Love MCR Sporting Legends dinner while one lucky reader and their partner will dine with VIPs.

Nominations can be made for anyone who has either plied their trade in our region or who is from these parts.

Early frontrunners for the 1970s will no doubt include Sir Clive Lloyd, who became an honorary Lancastrian when he arrived at Old Trafford from Guyana in 1968.

Bespectacled and brutal, he often clouted the ball out of Old Trafford and onto the nearby railway lines.

In 1973 he was handed the Red Rose captaincy and oversaw the era of the one-day wonders.

On countless sunny afternoons in front of packed houses he took Lancs to three consecutive Gillette Cup finals and inspired generations to pick up a bat.

That he departed with a duck in another final, 18 years after his debut, mattered little. Lloyd, who also led the West Indies to success, had secured his legacy long before then.

Footballers will no doubt have a strong presence throughout the poll.

The shaggy-haired 70s saw the departure of United’s Holy Trinity of George Best, Sir Bobby Charlton and Denis Law and the unthinkable relegation to the Second Division.

But, with tartan scarves the rage among the faithful, Tommy Docherty led them back to where they belonged at the first attempt and in 1977 oversaw another unthinkable – FA Cup glory over Liverpool at a packed Wembley.

Across town the decade started with a double for Joe Mercer’s Blues who lifted the Cup

Winners Cup and the League Cup.

The Kippax swayed to the mesmerising tune of Francis Lee, Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee and in 1976 more silverware was on its way to Moss Side after Dennis Tueart’s unforgettable overhead kick landed the League Cup again.

The following year they narrowly missed out on a league title that many thought they so richly deserved.

If the 70s were not a particularly good decade for one set of Reds, it certainly was for another with Salford.

The arrival of Brian Snape as chairman transformed the club and two titles, inspired by the brilliance of Welsh wizard Brian Watkins arrived as fans flocked to The Willows.

Heroes are often created in adversity and while the 80s was a period United and City fans may wish to forget, it was also a time of terrace heroes including captain marvel Bryan Robson at Old Trafford and Paul Lake at Maine Road as the Blues’ famous youth team looked set to bring the good times back.

The 90s has to be the decade of Sir Alex Ferguson, who ushered in an era of unprecedented success that ended with the Treble.

It coincided with City’s darkest days, but who can forget THAT Paul Dickov goal at Wembley which sparked the revival?

And what of Joe Royle, who took humble Oldham to Wembley twice and to the promised land of the Premier League?

The Sydney Olympics kicked off the 21st Century in fine style and launched superhuman performances over the decade by athletes who were moulded in Manchester.

Sir Chris Hoy, the greatest cyclist of all time, Victoria Pendleton, Bradley Wiggins – all trained at the Beswick gold medal factory they call the Velodrome.